Related research

Government research demonstrates the positive impact of further education to the individual and the wider benefits to the economy and society. Research report from the Greater Manchester Colleges Group.

Secures our economic future; make ours a civilised society; promotes active citizenship; enables people to play a full part in their community; strengthens the family, the neighbourhood and the nation. Colleges and universities in the UK collectively work towards these aims for both young people and adults.

Colleges contribute significantly to employment by empowering businesses to remain competitive and to grow. In order to continue with this, we need the funding of our institutions to be more flexible, enabling responsiveness, innovation and success.

What’s the value of a UK degree? establishes that funding higher education leads to the creation of a substantial number of direct and indirect benefits.

There is substantial evidence that funding for colleges and universities is an investment in the country’s future, both in terms of the ability to create jobs and help deliver social and economic equity. Currently spending on tertiary education by the UK is around 1.3% of gross domestic product. This compares to the average in OECD countries of 1.6%, with the UK well below leading economies such as the USA and Korea (2.6%), Canada (2.5%), Sweden (1.8%) and Japan (1.6%). We want the UK governments to take a lead in raising funding for tertiary education to the OECD average of 1.6% of GDP.